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PSTA chief Brad Miller catches flak from board months after defeat of rail plan

 
Brad Miller was hired in 2011 as CEO of PSTA. Board members say there are red flags in his management.
Brad Miller was hired in 2011 as CEO of PSTA. Board members say there are red flags in his management.
Published Aug. 4, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — The chief executive of Pinellas County's transit agency is being put on notice by some of his bosses, including one of his staunchest supporters.

Several members of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's 15-member board of directors have penned highly critical annual evaluations of CEO Brad Miller. Among them is County Commissioner Ken Welch, one of the longest-serving board members who spoke up for Miller last year when critics were demanding his ouster.

"There are some issues I feel he needs to address pretty quickly," Welch said in an interview.

Welch gave Miller 25 points out of a possible 50 points spread across 10 categories. Commissioner Janet Long, who was finalizing her assessment Monday, said hers will be in that range, too.

The middling reviews come nine months after voters defeated a county-wide rail referendum that Miller and the PSTA pushed.

Also giving Miller less than satisfactory evaluations were County Commissioners Dave Eggers and Pat Gerard, both of whom joined the board eight months ago, and PSTA board chairman Bill Jonson, a Clearwater City Council member.

Board members said their concerns were less about last November's massive defeat of the Greenlight Pinellas referendum and more about administrative red flags.

"You need to have a stable, level playing field where things go smoothly and the day-to-day stuff is humming along," Long said. "I don't get that sense here, and that is troubling to me."

Said Eggers: "In many, many regards, at this time more than ever, you need a strong visionary, somebody who works really well in a proactive way with partners. There just seems to be an awful lot of reactionary stuff going on."

The latest problem came last month when an employee accused the agency of recording a grievance hearing, held by telephone conference call, without his knowledge. Recording telephone calls without the other party's consent is a felony in Florida.

PSTA general counsel attorney Alan Zimmet told board members the agency is in the clear because Harold Rutherford could not have had an expectation of privacy. Beyond the legal concerns, however, board members felt blindsided.

"As I stated in last year's evaluation, board communication must be consistent and proactive," Welch wrote in the evaluation. "I learned of the tape-recording incident by viewing it on the evening news."

This time last year, the agency had just been forced to return $354,000 from the Department of Homeland Security because commercials produced with the money as part of a public awareness campaign failed to address anti-terrorism and security efforts as required by the grant. The commercials also featured the Greenlight Pinellas logo and website address, and emails surfaced showing Miller ignored at least one staff member who expressed concerns about the content. Miller told the board he erroneously believed DHS had approved the ads.

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Greenlight opponents demanded Miller's resignation. Board members said Miller deserved another chance and gave him positive evaluations. Welch, who was chair of the PSTA board at the time, directed Miller to send weekly updates to the board.

Those updates have stopped coming, and that's a problem, Welch said.

It was unclear Monday how many others on the 15-member board share concerns because evaluations were still coming in. Some are pleased with Miller. St. Petersburg City Council member Wengay Newton gave Miller 49 points. Redington Beach Commissioner Mark Deighton awarded a perfect score.

Miller, who was hired in 2011, declined to comment Monday, saying he hadn't read the evaluations. In a self-assessment memo to the board, he touted the agency's record ridership and new strategic plan. He recommended a 3 percent raise to bring his salary to $176,850.

Board members stopped short of saying it's time for Miller to go.

"I do think there is a style and gravitas that goes with the CEO of a very large agency," Long said. "There's no question Brad has the technical skills for running a transit system. I'm skeptical of the rest that's required in a job like that."

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com.